Writing Traumatic Backstories

Writing Traumatic Backstories

Hello,it's me again! Sorry for dissappearing, I wanted a short little break from Tumblr. Obviously, I should have clearly communicated that fact instead of just going cold turkey!

From @differentnighttale : "How do I write characters who deal with severe trauma and pain with sensitivity and understanding"

Obviously with our topic today, there is going to be mentions of traumatic events and such. I won't go into any graphic or specific details but I just wanted to make it clear with a trigger warning

Since this lovely asker is specifically asking about sensitivity, I won't be addressing other related concerns about writing trauma but just focusing on this clear sensitivity! GET READY CAUSE THIS IS LONG!

Step One: Specificity Is Everything

You need to understand that various different traumatic instances will have their own different reactions based around various different incidents depending on what exactly happened and how many times it happened.

In general, the more times something happened, the more likely it would be leave an imprint. Obviously this is an oversimplification for the sake of an explanation :)

For abuse situations and other person vs person situations:

Consider the relationship your character has with this abuser! Is it obsessive? Neglectful? Don't just say it was a bad relationship! Describe to yourself what behavior and attitude specifically made this an unhealthy situation.

Did the abuser use any repetitive imagery? Did they use a specific tool most often? Did the abuse center on something specific? This can help guide you towards what can "trigger" this character!

What are the long-term affects this abusive situation have on this character? Did it make them question and distrust their self-worth, their safety, their identity, their body, their stability? Anything?

Was this abuser always bad? I don't mean in the "good person gone bad" route! I mean "is this character always abusive"? Most abusers aren't horrible 24/7 and can have their better sweeter moments. This often leaves their victims confused since the victims know more then anyone that this person wasn't just plain evil.

For natural disasters and accidents:

Where is the blame? Is it nature herself? Themself for not being careful enough? A real legitimate person who genuinely caused this accident? An imaginary individual that had no relationship?

What is the specific fear that this situation ignites? Is it this crushing feeling of isolation as they were suffering with no expectation of help? Is it the realization that life is out of their control which keeps them awake at night? Is it the chaos of that day? The fear of regret? The fear of death?

Answering these questions can often illuminate different ways to approach a character's traumatic backstory in unique and interesting ways. It also highlights potential coping mechanisms for your character.

Step Two: What Exactly Is Trauma's Effect On The Brain?

Remember: The following analogy is an oversimplified explanation of trauma. Afterward, the science explain-y part will come in :)

Imagine that the brain is an archive system. It gathers memories and puts away those memories under certain files. Then, the traumatic event(s) happen. Suddenly, the brain is unable to properly understand this. This causes the boss prefrontal cortex turns off. Now, the assistant is forced to take over. This assistant doesn't know what to do so they just do what they always do! Unfortunately, this fails to pacify the threat. And now the brain is mixing up all of the trauma's documents in an effort to just shove it into a filing cabinet. It doesn't work. Now everything new that arrives in needs to try and work through the trauma documents which are taking up the place!

SCIENCE PART!

During traumatic events, the "fear circuity" is activated. This causes the prefrontal cortex or the "decision-maker" to function less effectively. This causes a person goes into auto-pilot mode where they follow social habits.

This is why a person in a traumatic situation will sometimes engage in polite behavior with their abuser in an effort to "save face" as they typically do in social situations!

These events often physically mpact the brain! Specifically, in relation to learning and survival!

Advice In Order To Avoid Common Tropes:

Trauma is a highly complicated subject that is highly individualized and messy. But here are some "no fly" lists which often lead to traumatized characters appearing inauthentic and real traumatized people insulted.

Don't solve trauma in one conversation or one event. Working through trauma is ultimately about "moving on" in the sense of constantly moving forward but not leaving the trauma behind.

Don't romanticize certain coping mechanism. Oftentimes, media will have a hypersexual girl who learned to be hypersexual for trauma reasons. But this character doesn't exist so we can understand them. They exist for sexual appeal and tragedy brownie points.

Only include traumatic events if you can handle exploring them. If you aren't willing to deal with the implications of a certain backstory or serious mid-story event, don't write it in there.

Don't make it entirely resolved by the end. Recovery isn't about learning to "get rid" of the affect trauma has on someone. It's about working with those issues so you can learn to not drown in your issues.

Don't make the journey linear. Have your character relapse into bad unhealthy behavior. Make them have to struggle to relearn the same lessons again and again. It'll make the journey far more interesting and realistic.

Don't make bad coping mechanism black and white. Bad coping mechanisms were necessary once upon a time. They are good tools that have lived past their usefulness but they aren't illogical or evil.

Don't excuse bad behavior. Traumatic backstories offer an explanation of a character's behaviors but it doesn't make a character's actions okay.

They aren't just traumatic backstory. Oftentimes, they only thing we ever learn about a character is their deep issues and facade. But real traumatized people aren't just defined by the bad things that happen to them. They had dreams, goals, and friends that aren't pure tragedy.

They are people. While people are definitely defined by their trauma, don't make them think only of their trauma. People with sad backstories aren't more special then people who don't. They have stupidly weird behaviors, they have hobbies that aren't related to their issues. Don't make them think of just the bad stuff.

How To Write Trauma With Humanity

This short post is for those who think that they might be so focused on writing trauma well that they accidentally forget to write an actual character.

As someone who has an "interest" (read: deeply passionate and completely consuming dedication) for psychology and character analysis, I feel like sometimes writers don't really know how to write a character with trauma.

To quote a quote:

Don't Write A Traumatized Character, Write A Character With Trauma

I'm just trying to talk about those situations where the only interesting thing that we ever learn about this character is the fact that they have trauma and that's sad.

People tend to think that PTSD and trauma in general is just:

sit in dark, crying inconsolably about death

have nightmares

hide the fact that you have PTSD with broodiness

try to revenge

die tragically or happy ever after

Remember: Nobody has time for that

These people have obligations, responsibilities, family members, loved ones, and dreams that don't allow for this type of lifestyle.

Many people with PTSD *seem* like standard members of society. They sometimes participate in community activities. They have hobbies and vague interests that they put on their dating profile but don't really care about.

People with PTSD and trauma are interesting REGARDLESS of their trauma and trauma-related bullshit, not because.

If the only thing that's interesting about a character is what something else did to your character, it's not really interesting.

What's their dreams?

What do they like to eat in the morning?

What's their values?

Stop Trying TO ANSWER These Important Questions With:

"don't care :3 trauma will make this character complete :D"

If you ever think that your writing and dialogue is not how humans speak, just read some "twitter pick up artist" quotes.

Hello my dear friend,

I’m Sami, a father of two daughters. Our home and everything we had was destroyed by the war in Gaza 💔. We’ve been displaced several times and now live in a small tent in Deir Al-Balah 🇵🇸 with no basic necessities. Our car was also destroyed, leaving us stranded 🚗💥. We desperately need help to survive until the Rafah crossing opens.

Please consider donating to help my family find safety and start over .

Please help us with your donation, even if it is just a little.

https://gofund.me/107a8322

Please consider relogging and donating to this unverified gofundme if you can

Examples Include: grap3, unaliving/k*ll, F--ck

How To Write Non-Human Characters

From @startheoverseer we have a question about both me and writing!

Here is the quote: "Have you ever written from the perspectives of characters who aren't human and think/perceive the world differently than humans? If so, do you enjoy it? Any recommendations to make it feel more accurate or interesting?"

The structure for this post will be in the same formatting as the question. First, I'll address my perspective and experience and then i'll give some writing advice.

A) My Own Writing Experience

I've definitely written from the perspective of characters who are either biologically inhuman or who perceive the world through a non-standard path. I've written biblical angels, aliens, androids, parasites, and those not considered "sane".

I really enjoy writing from these types of perspectives. It's an interesting thought experiment that demonstrates the fact that what we consider "human" isn't as structured as we tend to think of it.

B) How To Make It Interesting

Think about is "what is the internal rhythm of this character"?

By "internal rhythm", I am talking about the thought processes, philsophy, and values of a character. Even if a character isn't human, presumably they are going to care about something.

Remember: You need to justify this philosophy. Whether or not you believe it or not, you have to be able to convince your audience that this character has the right to have this belief system.

Twist Human Desire And Perspective

A trick I use for conjuring an interesting internal rhythm is to either take a "positive thing" and twist to be disturbing or I take a "negative thing" and make it into a spector of worship.

I'll take two of my characters: Stansevain and Gabriel

Stansevain is an alien character who is based off of "the horror of understandin. Stansevain lives in a "Hive Mind" where he shares the same feelings, desires, and goals of the greater consciousness where Stansevain's individuality is dead.

Gabriel is an angel who worships the ground of suffering. They're someone who delights in experiencing suffering. For angels, if they experience enough unpolished suffering that isn't alleviated by worship, they will eventually "Fracture".

Use Inspiration

For Gabriel, I was inspired by Lana Del Rey's "Kintsugi", specifically the lines "Think by the third of March, I was cracked open. Finally the ground was cold, they wouldn't open. Brought by the sunlight of the spirit to pour into me". I was immediately reminded of the Holy Spirit and the important lessons gained by suffering.

For Stansevain, I was inspired by the thoughts I had towards the mental illness community. The part of the community that tries to pull each other further down into suffering in a desire to find someone who they can relate to. The horror of forced understanding.

Conclusion: I hope this helps you @startheoverseer . I also hope you learned a little bit more about me!